


Still the Same

by ceasefire



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-18
Updated: 2012-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-12 09:44:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceasefire/pseuds/ceasefire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba takes Koujaku drinking at Mizuki's bar just after his return to Midorijima, and Koujaku reflects on how things have changed. Written for Koujaku's birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still the Same

"Thanks for this, Aoba," Koujaku said. "It's good to spend time with you again like this."

He took a quick sip from the glass in his hand and placed it back on the counter, and Aoba grinned at him. His smile was already becoming a little lopsided, and Koujaku blamed the fact that Aoba was already on his third drink. 

"It's fine... it's been a while since we've seen each other," Aoba said, tilting his head back to drain the last of his own drink from its can. He teetered dangerously on the bar stool for a moment, and Koujaku reflexively flinched and reached out to catch him. Aoba squirmed and burst into laughter a second later, and Koujaku sighed with relief. 

"Be careful."

"I'm fine," Aoba slurred, but when Koujaku gently pushed him upright, he slumped face-first onto the bar. Mizuki burst into laughter from the other end of the bar and put the glass he was polishing down on the back counter.

"Aoba's such a lightweight. The first time he came in here he was almost begging for a tattoo of his allmate on his..."

"Shuddup, Mizuki," Aoba grumbled. He was still laying face-down on the bar when Mizuki walked over to prop him up.

Koujaku took another sip of his drink. He'd been so happy when he'd run into Aoba after all this time; at first he'd been afraid he'd moved away or forgotten about him, but he'd been pleasantly surprised when Aoba had approached him first. 

Koujaku took another drink as Mizuki poked and prodded Aoba's cheek to keep him awake. He hadn't realised that Mizuki's bar was more than just a bar when he'd first walked in. After a few minutes another man had walked in and asked to _get inked_ , Mizuki had left the bar, snapped on a pair of rubber gloves and walked into a separate room with the customer, and Koujaku had barely managed to stop himself from letting a shiver run down his spine before Aoba noticed his change in mood. 

It definitely wasn't the same as what happened to him, nowhere near it, but he'd still felt an uncomfortable, twisting sort of panic creep into his body when his mind had forced him to remember what had happened to him.

_Ryuuhou's hands on him, his own muffled screams, his mother trying to comfort him through tears, his father's voice telling them to both shut up and stop embarrassing him, and then..._

Koujaku shuddered and drained the rest of his drink. Unfortunately, this time his reaction didn't go unnoticed, and Aoba glanced at him from over the rim of his can of drink.

"Koujaku... you okay?"

Mizuki seemed to sense the shift in mood and backed away from the bar. "If you two are okay for now, I'll go and clean up out the back for a while. And ah... if you think you can stop Aoba from wandering off and breaking things."

"That was an _accident_ ," Aoba said, putting unnecessary emphasis on every word, but Mizuki just shook his head.

"I think we'll be fine," Koujaku said weakly, and Mizuki nodded and wandered off towards the other room. Koujaku couldn't help but stare at the tattoo winding its way around Mizuki's neck as he left, and he felt his skin prickle with an uncomfortable heat just from the sight.

"Koujaku?" Aoba said, and Koujaku felt his gut twist with guilt when he realised how unsure Aoba suddenly sounded.

"I'm fine," Koujaku said, shooting Aoba a broad grin. "How are you doing?"

"... fine," Aoba said, looking placated but unconvinced. "Head feels funny, but it'll be fine."

"Didn't you say you had work tomorrow when you invited me to drink the other day?" Koujaku asked. "You said it'd be an early night. Probably shouldn't have gotten so, umm... carried away?"

Aoba's face fell. "No... lost my job."

"Eh?" Koujaku said, frowning. "Why?"

"The manager... he got angry that I got sick so much... my headaches, you know? Didn't want to deal with it." 

"Ah, that's too bad," Koujaku said. "If you need help paying for tonight..."

Aoba shook his head and shook the can in his hand, only to find it empty. He still looked a little bit troubled. "'S fine. My treat."

"Please, Aoba," Koujaku said, reaching over to pay him on the back. "It's fine. I haven't seen you look this troubled since I told you I was leaving Midorijima when we were kids."

Aoba shook his head, and Koujaku felt the skin on the nape of his neck prickle with a strange heat when Aoba blushed, completely different to the uncomfortable warmth he felt along his back and shoulder when he looked at Mizuki's tattoos. "Shut up! I was a little kid back then."

"We both were. Things are different now," Koujaku said, and Aoba shook his head so fast he almost lost his balance. Koujaku reached over to catch him again, and Aoba reached and grabbed Koujaku's arm with both hands to steady himself. 

Everything had changed. The last time he'd seen Aoba, he's still been a little kid who cried in the park out of loneliness and relied on him like he was an older brother. He hadn't known what to expect when he'd come back, but seeing Aoba had soothed him somewhat, and having Aoba welcome him back as a friend -- like he hadn't been gone for years -- was more than he could have hoped for. When he'd left Midorijima, things had gone wrong in such an irreversible way. It was good to see Aoba, even if it changed nothing. Nothing would remove the ink on his skin, nothing would bring his mother back. Seeing Ryuuhou again would do nothing but make him hate him more than ever, but even now he wanted nothing more than to spill his blood and...

Heat prickled across Koujaku's back again, this time strong enough to steal his breath. Thankfully, Aoba seemed to be too deep in thought to notice this time around.

"No... we've grown, but we're still the same people... I think."

"Eh?"

"It's all the same... nothing's changed," Aoba muttered, shifting his grip on Koujaku's arm until it was more a hug than a steadying grip. "You're still looking out for me... this doesn't change who you are. Doesn't matter what fight you got into."

Aoba poked the scar that ran across Koujaku's knuckles with his index finger for added effect, and Koujaku flinched out of surprise.

"... glad you're back," Aoba muttered after a few comfortable seconds of silence, and Koujaku felt heat flare on his own cheeks when he realised that Aoba was blushing.

Maybe he was wrong, maybe not everything was different; Aoba was still the same. He still cared too much for others, was still a brat with a stubborn streak just wide enough to seem ridiculous and make him laugh, still relied on him like he'd never left at all.

Aoba had always made him happy, was still making him happy.

Aoba didn't know he'd saved his life.

"... still the same brats, huh?" Koujaku said, grinning a little. "I guess so."

"Mmm..." Aoba hummed, eyes dropping closed and head leaning against Koujaku's shoulder.

Koujaku cleared his throat and squirmed in his seat, trying his best to ignore the strange warmth that had just settled in the pit of his stomach. It was different to the sickly heat that overcame him when he felt angry, different to the contentment he'd felt when Aoba had kept treating him as his friend. 

_What the Hell?_

"Aoba," Koujaku started, swallowing thickly. His hand was shaking slightly as he gripped his glass. "I..."

Aoba made an undignified snorting sound, and Koujaku almost jumped out of his seat in surprise. Aoba's eyes were shut and his mouth was open. There was a thin line of drool running from one corner of his mouth and down to his chin.

Koujaku blinked once, twice, and stared.

"Aoba?"

"He fell asleep, huh?"

Koujaku looked up and saw Mizuki walking back from the tattoo parlour, and he nodded. He didn't really know what the hell to say about what happened, and words were still failing him.

"He always does," Mizuki said with a grin. "Just grab his Coil and ring his Grandma."

"No... I'll take him home," Koujaku said, shuddering at the thought of Tae's reaction to Aoba's current state. With a bit of trouble and a lot of help from Mizuki, Koujaku managed to get Aoba onto his back. Aoba was dead weight against his shoulders and neck, stirring only slightly when they moved him. Koujaku tried to reach for his wallet and Mizuki shook his head. 

"I'll put it on your tab, don't worry. I hope I'll be seeing you again either way. Any friend of Aoba's is a friend of mine."

"Thanks," Koujaku said. 

"No problem. See you later," Mizuki smiled, and Koujaku smiled back and headed for the door. 

The air outside was cold, but Aoba was warm against him. He was snoring so softly that Koujaku could barely hear him, and his breath was tickling the nape of Koujaku's neck.

Koujaku shivered again, and pointedly ignored the heat in his stomach as it came back in full force. He could blame the alcohol later, if he remembered at all.

"Ah, Aoba," Koujaku sighed, holding onto Aoba a little tighter, "you really haven't changed a bit."


End file.
